


Requiem

by pisinoe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Biting, Blood Drinking, Dark Fantasy, F/M, Historical Inaccuracy, Smut, Vampire Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pisinoe/pseuds/pisinoe
Summary: Rey is on a tour with friends visiting different landmarks and castles in Transylvania. During her weekend long stay at the haunted Castle of Chandrila which has opened its doors to the public for the first time in centuries, she feels a special connection with the painting of a handsome prince and an incontrollable pull to a secret room where she finds old portraits and a diary detailing a forbidden love story, with a pocket portrait of a woman that looks awfully like her.She doesn't believe in myths, except the current owner, Ben Solo, looks exactly like the handsome man in the centuries old painting of the vampire prince.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 131
Collections: Reylo Moodboard Inspiration





	Requiem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dearest_Solitude](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearest_Solitude/gifts).



> This was written for the reylo moodboard event in TWD and inspired by a prompt from @reylo_prompts twitter!
> 
> Moodboard by Dearest_Solitude and I'd like to thank the lovely and incredibly kind @tmwillson3 for motivating me and being an amazing beta for the fic!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it and please comment if you do :)

  


* * *

I should have learned a long time ago to say no to Poe, Finn and Rose. 

Every time they try to invite me along with their crazy plans, saying, _“Come on, Rey, it’ll be fun!”_ , I should know that it’s some kind of code for trouble. Like a rule, I always know that it won’t end well for me, except I am apparently stupid and unable to say no to them even if every time I end up bored, disappointed or losing my mind because of their _cool_ adventures.

It’s not that I don’t like their company; it’s just that I’m not sure I’ll survive the rest of my twenties with my body or my mind intact if I keep tagging along with them. The fact that I always feel like a fourth wheel doesn’t help my lack of enthusiasm. In my defense, I do try to be adventurous and be as open as possible to enjoying new experiences I wasn’t able to before, but I guess my mind and heart just aren’t interested in the same things as them.

They don’t understand me, but then no one really does. Yet they love me, and that’s enough.

And even though I vowed to myself to stay away from trouble after the last time I got caught up in their latest risky escapade, I couldn’t say no to their spontaneous trip to Romania.

Specifically because Rose promised me a weekend-long stay in the old Castle of Chandrila, exclusively opened for the first and last time as a hotel by the last heir and current owner.

That’s how I find myself visiting different landmarks and castles in Transylvania with them.

There’s not much that gets me as enthusiastic in this life as historical lands, old castles, haunted places, myths and horror stories. For a twenty-two year old history student from a small town in England, it’s my own version of heaven and personal guilty pleasure. It’s how I survived the long and lonely nights of foster care. “ _Rey is weird”,_ the other kids would say.

My reputation hasn’t gotten any better in college, but it’s not like I haven’t tried to fit in before. It just wasn’t worth it, and I didn’t enjoy dating and partying as much as others do.

I don’t really know what it is that draws me to the past, except that I can’t seem to resist it.

It’s more than morbid curiosity these days, to the point that it has become a _problem_.

My whole life, there hasn’t been a conscious moment I remember not feeling this void inside me. The constant sensation that something is missing, a lack of fulfillment in my soul that leaves me aching and seeking what I don’t have words for. It’s a pull that makes me restless, and I can’t explain it in terms, just _feel_ it deep in my bones as the only certainty I’ve ever had.

However, I’m used to being disappointed by reality and am aware that I’ll probably never find the answer to this bottomless quench at this point. If I don’t know what I’m looking for, how could I ever hope to discover what it is that my restless soul so desperately longs for?

The unsettling feeling I’ve had since arriving in Transylvania doesn’t make me feel any better.

We haven’t run into any trouble so far, and the trip is going better than expected for once, which is why I don’t understand the sudden anxiety that overwhelms me once our taxi finally stops in front of our final destination here atop a beautiful yet intimidating hill.

The sight of the Castle of Chandrila is even more breathtaking and terrifying in person.

Made of old, white stones and surrounded by several spires and imposing towers, the gigantic Romanesque architecture is a true work of art that looks like a nightmare come true.

Compared to all the other castles we’ve visited until now, this one is the most sinister.

A shudder runs down my spine as soon as I leave the car and stand in front of the majestic building. It looks straight out of a medieval scenario, or like the setting of a horror movie.

The driver rushes out of there as soon as we pay him, muttering what sounded like a prayer.

“Holy shit, guys, this place is creepy as fuck,” Rose says loudly, shaking me out of my reverie.

Despite what she said, she seems impressed, and when I look at Poe, his expression is also one of excitement, unlike Finn, who looks uneasy and like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“I can’t believe you’re making us stay in this hellhole,” Finn murmurs, clearly nervous.

“I bet it’s haunted.” Poe laughs, but doesn’t seem to take his own words seriously. He then turns to me, curious. “What do you think, Rey? Could the vampire prince still live here?”

I roll my eyes, trying to shake away the strange feeling that something is wrong in the air. 

“You guys talk a lot for people that don’t believe in myths. It’s actually amazing how well-kept this place is after all these years.” I can barely contain my anticipation as we walk the path to the huge entrance doors. “This city is fucking historic, with so many interesting spots to visit. This castle alone has centuries worth of history, and it’s the first time that it’s open to the public and even letting guests have the experience of sleeping here.” 

From inside, the castle looks even more amazing and intimidating. Surprisingly, it isn’t as sinister and macabre as on the outside, and it’s impossible to not marvel at how beautiful and astonishing the structure and decoration is. It must have been renovated recently.

“Isn’t that awesome? The legend says that the prince bathed in so much enemy blood, his soul eventually became corrupted by darkness and he was cursed to become a vampire when he went mad after making a deal with the Devil and sacrificing the life of his forbidden love in order to win the war just like his grandfather before him, Voivode Vader, did,” Rose adds excitedly with a spooky tone. “The Skywalker family is one of the oldest of Romania, said to be direct descendants of Vader and are super mysterious, never having allowed commoners to enter their castle for hundreds of years because of the vampire rumors and persecution in the seventeenth century. No one even knows what the last heir and owner looks like!”

“With how sinister this place is, I’m surprised anyone would even stay here willingly,” Finn groans, looking more and more appalled as we approach the reception desk where a blond woman is. “I don’t think I can sleep here; please let’s call the taxi to take us back to the city!”

“And lose all the money we paid for the all-inclusive weekend package? Hell no!” Rose scoffs, smacking his head. “Get over it. It’s our last three nights in Romania, and even if you don’t pray enough, I highly doubt the vampire prince would want to suck on your coward blood!”

“Don’t pretend you’re not terrified as well because I dare you to take a look around and tell me this place is not haunted as fuck, Tico!”

There’s no one else in the lobby besides us, and I pretend not to know those two bickering idiots as I follow behind Poe, who is already talking to the receptionist, or flirting with her.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he is, with him you never know, and she’s young and beautiful.

Kaydel, as her name tag reads, asks for our passports to confirm our identities in broken English that sounds adorable, and after handing us the ancient keys to our rooms on the third floor, proceeds to give us a paper map and a small tour of the open areas of the castle.

“The Great Hall is in here on the main ground floor, along with the library and many of the exhibit rooms. You can visit the first and second floor, as well as the attached wings and towers. Chambers are on the third floor, and everything beyond the fourth floor is off limits,” she explains carefully in a monotone voice while she points in the specific directions as we pass by them. “Breakfast is at eight, lunch at twelve and dinner at eight. The curfew starts at ten, and after that no one is allowed to roam the castle or you don’t want to know the terrible fate that awaits you, if you dare to.” 

We all stop walking abruptly when we hear those words come out her mouth.

She looks dead serious, and for a second I’m afraid Finn will pass out, until she laughs, “I’m kidding. It’s just that if you get lost, no one will be around until early morning to find you.” 

Rose and Poe laugh, but Finn doesn’t seem to find it funny. I’m too busy looking at my amazing surroundings to care about how weird Kaydel’s joke is given the situation.

This place is the most fascinating museum I’ve ever been in, and I can’t believe it’s real and so well-preserved. It’s like I’ve been transported through time, directly back to the late Middle Ages and am losing myself in the best and creepiest historical experience of my life. 

We’ve barely made it to the third floor when I notice a huge portrait in the middle of the hallway, and forget how to breathe.

My hand moves automatically to my heart as a strange feeling spreads in my chest.

“Who is that?” I ask in a whisper, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.

The man portrayed in the painting is exquisitely handsome and unlike anyone I’ve ever seen before.

His dark hair frames his pale face in soft waves, eyes impossibly golden and red-coated lips looking pointedly at me as if he stood alive right there. He’s shrouded in black robes and wears no crown, but instead holds a long-sword bathed in blood and looks like a fallen angel.

A thin scar splits the left side of his face in half, making the portrait look even more arrestingly alive.

“This painting is a copy of an original made during his lifetime that has never been exhibited in a museum before. It’s said to be the real face of Kylo I of Wallachia,” Kaydel reveals in a mysterious tone, her intense eyes looking pointedly at me as if intrigued by my reaction. “Or as he later became known and mystified in history as… The vampire prince.”

The sense of déjà-vu that washes over me is so strong that I feel disoriented for a second.

I’m not even sure that I’ve regained all my senses once we get to our rooms, or even later when Rose comes to see if I’m ready to eat lunch and then start properly visiting the castle.

I barely notice that this weekend there are not many guests here, or servants. My mind keeps drifting back to the painting, and I can’t stop thinking of the handsome young man shrouded in darkness and bathed in the blood of his enemies. A prince that threw away his heart to get rid of his humanity and turned into a monster feared by thousands.

How could someone with such lonely eyes become so evil and end with a fate so terrible?

* * *

It’s already well past midnight, and I can’t sleep, even though I feel drained and exhausted.

There’s no phone reception or wifi available in a remote place like this in the middle of nowhere, which doesn’t help soothe how aggravated and restless I am right now. I’m bored and know sleep won’t come for me anytime soon, so I get up and put on my robe. 

I know I’m not supposed to roam the castle after closing hours. Do I care? No. A little exploration has never done anyone harm, and as long as I don’t get lost, no one will find out.

And it’s not as if I’m afraid of a mythical tale and actually believe vampires could even be real.

Using a candle to light the way, I’m tempted to revisit the painting on the second floor but ultimately decide to explore the fourth floor of the castle instead. It becomes visible quite quickly that this part of the building is more ancient, not exactly renovated like the rest. The surroundings are older and decayed by the centuries, yet the frightening beauty of history contained inside these walls seems untouched by time.

I stop myself before I touch everything along the way, but can’t resist going inside each room that I find open. Most are filled with memorabilia or are cold and empty, abandoned for years.

It’s hard to say how long I’ve been exploring, but after crossing another corridor, I seem to have arrived in a different wing of the castle. Unlike the worn out part of the floor I just saw, this one feels different. A door at the end of the hallway is wide open, pulling my curiosity.

I find out why soon after, when I point the candle at the walls and see it filled with paintings.

Being a history student, I recognize a few of them. The whole history of the House of Drăculești is hanging on these walls, including the official portrait of Wallachia’s original bloodthirsty ruler, Vader the Impaler. The painting of a beautiful woman with long, curly hair and exquisite dress is depicted just beside him, her eyes sad and sorrowful looking towards where her companion’s hangs. It must be the Voivode’s first and only wife, Padme of Luxembourg, whose tragic death was the catalyst for Vader’s spiral into madness and inhuman massacre and merciless slaughtering of the armies that tried to invade his lands.

The following paintings are gruesome pictures of impaled bodies up to the rise of Prince Kylo during the second invasion of the kingdom and house wars for the conquest of the throne.

I’m ready to go back to my room, thinking I’ve seen enough to give me nightmares until the day I leave this place, when the glimpse of something different catches my eye: it’s a leather journal atop a small, almost imperceptible and lonely altar at the very corner of the room.

It looks old with creased leather, but it’s in good shape and seems to belong to the last century, out of place among all this antiquity, and the urge to open it and see what’s inside is stronger than my self-control, so I give in and try to do it as carefully as possible.

To my surprise, it’s a diary written in the most beautiful calligraphy I’ve ever seen before.

The first entries I can’t decipher because they’re in a language I don’t recognize, but by the middle I find one in perfect, classical English, dated back to the nineteenth century. I’m left breathless by what I can understand:

_"I wonder what love is._

_Is it hoping that wherever you are, you’re missing me like I miss you, is it wishing that you're longing as desperately for me as I do for you?_

_Is this love?_

_Or, on the other hand, is it wishing that you won't be worried about leaving me behind alone for eternity and that you'll forget about me and all the moments we've shared, so that your soul can finally be free of the pain I’ve caused and you find eternal peace without me?_

_Is it loving someone so much that you can let them go and give up your dreams together that would never come true, even when they’re the only belonging you ever had in this world?_

_Is that love?_

_If it’s neither, is it still love then, that I'm willing to go through everything from the very beginning just so that I’d have the chance to meet you again?_

_I yearn for you so much, but I can’t be near you. I hope and wait to see you again in this lifetime, because no matter how far apart we become, I can never seem to forget you._

_Even though I know ours is an unchangeable fate, I’ll be waiting for you and your new name, forever…."_

Before I can turn the page, a small pocket portrait falls out of the diary, landing in my hands.

And the whole world as I know it stops making sense from that moment on.

The resemblance is… Incredible. It’s almost like I’ve seen this young woman somewhere before, but at the same time I’m not sure of what I’m looking at. The quality of the picture is horrible, the features distorted and washed away by time, yet somehow it feels familiar.

For a second, the picture becomes recognizable, and it’s like I’m staring at my own reflection.

When I blink again, it’s gone, and I’m left so perturbed as I put the diary back and try to get as far away from this room as possible that I don’t even notice I'm no longer alone in here.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” a deep, manly voice drawls in the darkness behind me out of nowhere, making me scream out of sheer horror with how unexpected it is. 

My heart feels like it’s going to explode out of my chest, and every instinct in my body is telling me to run down the hallway and get to the stairs as fast as possible. But before I can make a move, a huge silhouette moves in the darkness and stops right in front of me.

The person takes a deep inhale… And then makes a guttural sound that vibrates right through my bones.

“Who… Who is this?” 

I’m paralyzed by fear, and my voice sounds pathetic even to my ears.

“Ben Skywalker-Solo. The **owner** of this castle, and you’re trespassing on _my_ property.”

The moment the light of the candle shines on him and I see his face; I start thinking that maybe the myth is real, after all.

Because this handsome man looks _exactly_ like the one in the painting of the vampire prince.


End file.
